Such a device is known from DE 20 2004 012 848 U1. The known device contains a first and a second conveyor which run horizontally parallel with respect to each other and in different directions. The conveyors are embodied as belt conveyors and in particular consist of supporting plates connected to each other via hinges on which objects, such as bottles of plastics or the like, empty or filled, stand stably. Between the two conveyors, a transfer unit is arranged which, driven by an external travel drive, can move along the conveyors and relative with respect to them and takes care that objects can be exchanged between the first and the second conveyor. To this end, a third conveyor and a conveyor drive for the third conveyor are arranged on the transfer unit, of which the structural embodiment is identical to the first and the second conveyor. This third conveyor continuously runs on the transfer unit and alternately comes into transferring contact with the first and the second conveyor. Each conveyor runs on its own supporting rail which takes care that the conveyors can run at the same level.
From WO 2005/102880, a conveyor/storage means with a first and a second conveyor which are at least regionally guided parallel with respect to each other and at a distance one next to the other is known. The two conveyors are arranged in a coiled manner or as conveyor tower or spirally in the plane. To be able to transfer objects between the conveyors, a slide can be traveled between the conveyors on which a guiding means in the form of a deflector and guiding surface is arranged. The guiding means projects into the first as well as into the second conveyor, such that the articles can be shifted over from the conveyor conveying towards the guiding means to the conveyor moving away from the guiding means. The slide is driven via the drive of the first and the second conveyor and runs on a guide which preferably also supports the drive for the slide, for example in the form of a belt or a chain or the like. The guide is arranged centrically between the two conveyors.
From EP 581 143, a conveyor means is known which is in particular designed for conveying cigarettes. The conveyor means contains a conveyor tower with first and second conveyors arranged in a coiled manner which are arranged vertically one above the other in one embodiment. At the outer periphery of the conveyor means, a belt wagon is guided and driven via a rotating arm, which on the one hand supports a deflection point between the two conveyors and on the other hand comprises a withdrawal conveyor consisting of two conveyor belts touching the conveying side of the conveyor on both sides. The belts of the withdrawal conveyor lift the stream of articles conveyed by the conveyor from its conveying side and move it tangentially to the coil to a deflection zone embodied as a vertical conveyor line and from there to a return conveyor that places the deflected articles onto the second conveyor.
It is furthermore known, for example from WO 2005/073113, to arrange a continuous conveyor means divided into a first (conveying side) and a second (slack side) conveyor parallel to each other in a coiled and ascending and descending manner so that a conveyor tower is formed. The conveying side and the slack side can be driven independently with respect to each other. To here have the possibility of modifying the ratio of the capacities of the conveyors, the deflection points of the conveyors are, in the known device, arranged on a slide which can be traveled by the drive of the two sides such that the length ratio between the conveyor side and the slack side changes.